...The 8th Habit: From effectiveness to greatness Author(s): Publishers: Edition: ISBN: Reviewed by: Stephen Covey Simon & Schuster 2004 0743206827 Gill McKay, Director, Extensor Limited It is 18 years since Stephen Covey published his seminal work “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, which was a hugely impactful book, selling millions of copies across the globe. In that book, Dr Covey showed us how to become as effective as we possibly could be. In the 8th Habit, he opens up more potential for us all – by moving from “effectiveness to greatness”. The world today is different, with more challenge, ambiguity and complexity and while the 7 Habits form a strong basis upon which to start, it is this next step – the 8th Habit –that will take us to true fulfilment in what Covey describes as the age of the knowledge worker. I learned a lot from his previous books, particularly the 7 Habits, and approached the 8th Habit with real enthusiasm. Unfortunately I found it a much more difficult read which, although it contained some good tips and new and metaphors, did not deliver on its initial perceived promise. The book’s synopsis promises that The 8th Habit is the answer to the yearning for greatness, the organisation's imperative for significance and superior results, and the human’s search for its "voice". I believe there are some handy tips to be found in the book, but it is a much less intuitive read than his previous works. The book is divided into two sections...
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...In 1989, Stephen R. Covey penned The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People(public library), a book that went on to sell millions of copies worldwide and defined a new genre bridging self-improvement, business management, and personal productivity. This week, Covey died at the age of 79. Here's a look back at his legacy with some of the keenest insights from his beloved bestseller. Habit is the intersection of knowledge (what to do), skill (how to do), and desire (want to do). Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.* People can't live with change if there's not a changeless core inside them. Until a person can say deeply and honestly, 'I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,' that person cannot say, 'I choose otherwise.' To learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know. It is one thing to make a mistake, and quite another thing not to admit it. People will forgive mistakes, because mistakes are usually of the mind, mistakes of judgment. But people will not easily forgive the mistakes of the heart, the ill intention, the bad motives, the prideful justifying cover-up of the first mistake. Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. How you treat the one reveals...
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...For teens, life is not a playground, it's a jungle. And, being the parent of a teenager isn't any walk in the park, either. In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, author Sean Covey attempts to provide "a compass to help teens and their parents navigate the problems they encounter daily." How will they deal with peer pressure? Motivation? Success or lack thereof? The life of a teenager is full of tough issues and life-changing decisions. As a parent, you are responsible to help them learn the principles and ethics that will help them to reach their goals and live a successful life. While it's all well and good to tell kids how to live their lives, "teens watch what you do more than they listen to what you say," Covey says. So practice what you preach. Your example can be very influential. Covey himself has done well by following a parent's example. His dad, Stephen Covey, wrote the book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, which sold over 15 million copies. Sean's a chip off the old block, and no slacker. His own book has rung in a more than respectable 2 million copies sold. Here are his seven habits, and some ideas for helping your teen understand and apply them: Be Proactive Being proactive is the key to unlocking the other habits. Help your teen take control and responsibility for her life. Proactive people understand that they are responsible for their own happiness or unhappiness. They don't blame others for their own actions or feelings. Begin With...
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...MG401: Senior Seminar in Management XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Homework: Week 3 1/29/13 Position Paper on Stephen Covey’s, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Introduction In 1989, Stephen Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People started a landmark revolution in how we think about time and life management. In this book, Covey presents seven principles for developing effectiveness in our private and public lives. By developing these habits, one moves from being dependent on other people to being and acting independently. Then we learn how to move to the more advanced state of interdependence and successful Cooperation. As a part of the seven habits, Covey introduced important and powerful techniques of time management under the habit of "Put First Things First." It is necessary to understand (and Practice) all seven habits so that the tools of time management can be learned and practiced in their natural setting. What follows is a basic overview of these ideas presented so you can take better advantage of this tool you hold in your hands. Covey does not claim to invent the seven habits of highly effective people but rather claims to have discovered them and have a simple language for articulating them. Counter Argument Though the term self-help can refer to any case whereby an individual or a group (support group) betters themselves economically, intellectually or emotionally, the connotations of the phrase have come to apply particularly to psychological...
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...Sarah E. Al-Falahy BSA-2B MWF 7:40-8:40am “Your life doesn’t just ‘happen.’ Whether you know it or not, it is carefully designed by you. The choices, after all, are yours. You choose happiness. You choose sadness. You choose decisiveness. You choose ambivalence. You choose success. You choose failure. You choose courage. You choose fear. Just remember that every moment, every situation, provides a new choice. And in doing so, it gives you a perfect opportunity to do things differently to produce more positive results.”—Stephen Covey Life is full of wonders and complexities. Every day we live adds twist and color to our existence. In the lyrics of Francis Magalona’s song entitled Kaleidoscope World, “Every color, every hue, is represented by me and you…” which somewhat relates to why people uniquely responds to certain circumstances. Though unique, I believe that there are ways that may actually work and be effective for all. One of those ways is contained in what my Management teacher assigned us to read, Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” The book is really about knowing and nurturing the fundamental truths in your life and making them accessible to you at all times to the point where it’s easy to draw solutions to problems from them, making you a much more effective person in all aspects of life. Habit 1: Be Proactive (Principles of Personal Vision) There’s a lot of things that are happening everyday and minority of it concerns us. Based on...
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...The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, Simon & Schuster, 1989, ISBN 0-67170863-5 1 The Seven Habits From “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic” by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, 1989 1. 2. BE PROACTIVE: Between stimulus and response in human beings lies the power to choose. Productivity, then, means that we are solely responsible for what happens in our lives. No fair blaming anyone or anything else. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND: Imagine your funeral and listen to what you would like the eulogist to say about you. This should reveal exactly what matters most to you in your life. Use this frame of reference to make all your day-to-day decisions so that you are working toward your most meaningful 2 life goals. The Seven Habits From “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic” by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, 1989 3. 4. PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST. To manage our lives effectively, we must keep our mission in mind, understand what’s important as well as urgent, and maintain a balance between what we produce each day and our ability to produce in the future. Think of the former as putting out fires and the latter as personal development. THINK WIN/WIN. Agreements or solutions among people can be mutually beneficial if all parties cooperate and begin with a belief in the “third alternative”: a better way that hasn’t been thought of 3 yet. The Seven Habits ...
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...The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, Simon & Schuster, 1989, ISBN 0-67170863-5 1 The Seven Habits From “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic” by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, 1989 1. 2. BE PROACTIVE: Between stimulus and response in human beings lies the power to choose. Productivity, then, means that we are solely responsible for what happens in our lives. No fair blaming anyone or anything else. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND: Imagine your funeral and listen to what you would like the eulogist to say about you. This should reveal exactly what matters most to you in your life. Use this frame of reference to make all your day-to-day decisions so that you are working toward your most meaningful 2 life goals. The Seven Habits From “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic” by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, 1989 3. 4. PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST. To manage our lives effectively, we must keep our mission in mind, understand what’s important as well as urgent, and maintain a balance between what we produce each day and our ability to produce in the future. Think of the former as putting out fires and the latter as personal development. THINK WIN/WIN. Agreements or solutions among people can be mutually beneficial if all parties cooperate and begin with a belief in the “third alternative”: a better way that hasn’t been thought of 3 yet. The Seven Habits ...
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...The principles that Covey believes that companies need to concentrate on in order to develop leaders include empowerment, trust, trustworthiness, integrity, and personal growth. Leaders need to create cultures in their companies that recognize these basic principles. In Covey's model, leadership is broken down into three basic functions. First, there is path finding. In this role, a leader develops and articulates a vision for the future and gets people excited about it. The second activity is aligning. This means that the leader ensures that a company's organization, systems, and processes are consistent with, and contribute to, the leader's vision and the company's mission. The third activity is empowering. This means that the leader gives the people in the organization the power and resources to accomplish their portion of the organization's mission. This will unleash hidden talents, energy, and creativity. Covey trains leaders for companies in a variety of ways. These include books, on-site workshops, seminars, and training events at his institute for leadership in Utah. Covey also encourages follow-up training and assessment. Many companies have credited Covey and his training for helping them to develop leaders for the future. Goals and The 7 Habits As in any aspect in life, it is beneficial to have a goal in mind before undertaking it. From the simplest task of setting your feet on the ground in the morning to the monumental task of mapping out a strategy for...
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... The video "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Karen Bradley is about the habits and paradigms of effective people. She defines effective people as people that get the same desired results over and over again; in other words, they are consistent. In order to be effective, one must practice the seven habits she mentions: being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win-win, seeking first to understand and then be understood, synergizing, and sharpening the saw. Bradley goes through each of these habits describing what the habit entails and what the common mindset is about that habit or a lack of habit. Many of these habits can help one manage their stress. For example, if one begins with the end in mind, according to Bradley, they can live life by design and not be default. This allows them to dictate their life and ensure that they are not constantly being forced to improvise and become stressed because of life's events. Another habit that is very helpful to manage stress is putting first things first. This habit involves planning out your week ahead of time and focusing on your highest priorities using the time matrix. This matrix was also mentioned in our book but was explained in more depth in this video. By organizing and planning one's priorities, one can manage their stress by fulfilling their duties in a timely and organized manner. One of the things that I did not completely agree with Bradley on was the time matrix. I think...
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...Personal Responsibility Julie Sowders GEN200 November 25, 2012 Abstract Len Wilson, (2010), A great definition of personal responsibility. Retrieved March 12 2012, This book looks at the American Dream—where it came from, why it is out of reach for most Americans, and how we can reclaim the fullness of its promise. He holds a M.A. in Religious Communication, United Theological Seminary, 1995; a B.A. in Communication, McMurry University, 1992 (summa cum laude); and did Master's course study at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, 1992-1993 Bourbon, Thomas. (1994) Discipline at Home and at School: New York: Brandt William Glasser’s Choice Theory is the theory that we all choose how to behave at any time, and cannot control anyone’s behavior but our own. Glasser also believed in the importance of classroom meetings that are held for communication and solving problems. Thomas Bourbon was one of the few scientists in the world who conducted experimental studies, wrote working computer models to test perceptual control theory (PCT), and published the results in scientific journals. After receiving a grant, he joined William Brandt in 1995 to research Responsible Thinking Process (RTP) and to help build more integrity into the process. Covey, S. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York, NY: Free Press. Covey argues against what he calls "The Personality Ethic", something he sees as customary in many modern self-help books...
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...When facing a problem, human nature looks for a “quick fix.” Whether it is the latest diet fad or a get rich scheme, almost all “quick fixes” produce the same short-lived results and often no results at all. As a society, we are drawn to the appeal of a quick and easy route which leads to immediate results. We have grown accustomed to an easy lifestyle that uses superficial tactics when interacting with others. The problem with these quick fixes is that they deceive us into believing it is possible to avoid going through the natural process of work and growth, an essential process in order to change. These quick solutions not only try to cheat the system, but also cause us to lose touch with our inner values. In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey addresses this issue by using universal principles to demonstrate how important work and growth are to achieving success. The title of this book is somewhat deceiving as it may seem a step-by-step guide about how a person can be successful in business. However, it is not and there is no such manual. This book is about changing one’s life not by adopting superficial tactics, but about adopting real, meaningful values and principles and applying them to all aspects in one’s life. Covey begins the book by discussing his rational for writing the book. He talks about the importance of applying our fundamental principles as opposed to trying to get by with superficial tactics. Reading this chapter I remembered...
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...Jacob Lewtan Professor Ciliberto 03-05-15 Changing My Center After being assigned habit two in the book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey, I noticed it was the longest of the habits with fifty pages of reading. As I started reading, I realized that it was much more than just the longest habit, but it was my favorite. It was the habit that I could most apply to my life in the form of making a mission statement and finding my center. Habit two being about, “Beginning with the End in Mind,” made me start to think about what I want for myself in not only my education at Bryant University, but for the rest of my life. Covey starts with a very vivid simulation. This simulation shows the reader “driving to the funeral” (Covey, 96) of themselves and seeing what people are saying and thinking about them after they have passed. It made me start to think, what would I want people to say about me? I know that I would want everyone to view me as hard working and justified for my actions. Although I may always be edgy with what I say or do, I would want to make sure that everyone knows why I put myself in that position and how important it is that I say what I say. Covey talks about starting with a clear understanding of my destination. I have always had a sense for where I am going, but after reading this chapter and being at Bryant for a full semester I am not completely sure anymore. On my school profile, it reads, “some kids wanted to be a sports star when...
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...In the self-improvement book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey presents an integrated and principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional issues and problems. Covey uses real life examples as well as his own experience to reveal a systematic way for living with integrity, honesty, and self-respect. In the book, he explains principles that give someone the comfort to adapt to change and the wisdom to take control and full advantage of the opportunities that the business world and personal lives create. This book seems very useful and I found a few habits that I plan to adopt and work at including in my everyday life. They are basic things in everyday life that can make things easier, more efficient, and better for everyone not just myself. They do not necessarily need to be used every second of my day but if I can employ them as often as possible, I can improve myself. Seventh habit is one of them it is about personal renewal, bringing your greatest asset back into top operating condition. What asset is that? You are the common denominator of every aspect of your life. The seven habit is about one of renewal and continual improvement that is of building one's personal capability. To be effective, one must find the proper balance between actually doing and improving one's capability to do that which you value.In the business environment, synergy occurs when two or more businesses or resources come together to make a greater...
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...7 Habits of Highly Effective People Reginald Allen Strayer University The Three Most Important Concepts Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, describes the differences between personality ethic and character ethic. The character ethic is the idea that a person advances in basis of their character. This was culturally the main idea expressed in the United States up until about World War I, when poplar literature began to focus more on short-cuts and easy ways to manipulate situations or to get what you want. Character ethic depends on deep changes within each of us, while the personality ethic falls back on methods or techniques. The personality ethic does not challenge us and does not bring about deep changes in us. “The problem with relying on the Personality Ethic is that unless the basic underlying paradigms are right, simply changing outward behavior is not effective (Covey 2010).” Paradigms are the mental maps that we use to describe the world around us. The key of a paradigm isn’t much in the nature of a thing as much as our perception of the thing. Covey uses the example of a person in Chicago with a map of Detroit trying to find their way around the city. No matter how hard they try, they will not be successful. In order to maintain correct paradigms it is essential to keep an open mind and to realize that no matter how much we see, there is always more to the picture. “If our paradigm is not close to reality, our attitudes...
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...Dane Thorman MGT 461 Summer 2015 LEARNING JOURNAL 1 ACQUIRE I have chosen to apply Stephen R. Covey's Habit One "Be Proactive" from "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." I guess one could say I'm normally a very reactive person, but one who usually has somewhat of a plan as to how I intend on reaching said reaction. Proactivity means that "as human beings, we are responsible for our own lives..our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions..we have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen." (Covey, p. 78) INTERPRET The way that I have interpreted the way this concept is relevant to and connects with my personal and work situation was actually as to how I was approaching this semester at Walsh College. In the past, I have always been the type of student who would get the good grades but, for whatever reason, would always allow myself to wait until the very last minute to accomplish the task in question (a professional procrastinator, one might say), yet probably because of it I was exhausted at the end of it. I really had a "light-bulb" (some might call it an "a-ha") moment while reading Habit One in Covey's text. It really struck me that, given I am nearly the end of my undergraduate learning, that this is something I really need to change for going forward. This light-blub moment came when, ironically, Covey was breaking down the word "responsibility." Not in the literal sense, but in the phonetic sense, breaking it down between...
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